Nancy L. Johnson: “A lot of seniors have, first of all, been misled to think that the discount card is the Medicare reform bill. The…”

“A lot of seniors have, first of all, been misled to think that the discount card is the Medicare reform bill. The discount card is not the program. The discount card is only an intermediate step, and it is one that, in my district at least, seniors who were spending $1,000, $1,500 a year on drugs can save considerably through a discount card. They can save usually, at least we are finding, about a third of their costs. We are also finding that seniors who do not have any drug costs are remembering that if they have a discount card, that if they go to the doctor and he prescribes an antibiotic, which is often over $100, they will be able to save about a third of the cost of that antibiotic when they go to the pharmacy to buy it. So even seniors without regular drug expenditures are recognizing that the discount card is a good thing for them, but it is only an interim step. The real program that goes into effect a year from January is a very generous program to those who need it the most. For seniors who have incomes under 135 percent of the poverty income; and remember, 50 percent, just think about this, 50 percent of all the retired women all across our Nation are in this category; 50 percent of retired women will have no premium, no deductible. They will get their generic drugs for $1 to $3 and their brand name drugs for $3 to $5.”